One Year
by m.brown
Summary: It's been one year since Sarah last saw John. One year since the love of her life disappeared. One year since she had felt complete. What happens when a certain young man finds his way back to her? One-shot. Rated T for descriptions of teenage behavior... if you know what I mean. jk... nothing sexual, but it is steamy!


**Hey guys:) For those of you that have read my other stories: HI. Hehe, I just had to urge to write about this so here you go! For those of you who **_**haven't **_**read my other stories: read them. Right now. Okay, that's all! Enjoy!**

**Author's Note: This is all before **_**The Power of Six**_**. And I always saw them as like 17 years old so Sarah is now 18:)**

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I turn off the bathroom light before sleepily retreating to my bed. I crawl underneath my sheets, but kick off my fluffy blue blanket. It's too hot to sleep with all of that tonight. However, I curl up in my sheets so they engulf everything except for my head and neck. As my head sinks into my pillow and my eyes flutter shut, I realize that something is missing. No; some_one_.

One year. It's been one year since I've seen the face of the man I love. It's been one year since I've heard his voice; one year since I've felt his arms around me; one year since I've kissed his lips. It's been one year since John Smith drove away in a pickup truck with his best friend and the beautiful Lorien girl who's destined to be his soul mate, and left me standing alone beside my ex-boyfriend.

I clench the sheets between my hands trying not to think about it. John and Six. Six and John. They're a match made in heaven, and what am I? A pathetic, human girl who's just standing in the way. He's probably moved on to her already. He's probably forgotten about me all together. Sarah Hart is just a small memory in the past.

Okay, maybe I'm being a _little _dramatic. I know John. I know that he could never just forget about me like that, but sometimes I can't help but feel that he's moved on. He deserves to be happy, after all. I mean, he _is _saving a planet that's not even his.

I let my thoughts and insecurities rain down on me like a storm until I finally just settle on the memories I have. I remember meeting him for the first time and how he was so shy. I remember shaking his hand and wondering why it was so warm. I remember the way his eyes burned with fire and passion when he saved me from Mark and his friends. I remember the way I kissed his perfect lips afterwards. I remember telling him I loved him after he told me who he really was and how he said it right back. I remember fighting the Mogadorians alongside him. I remember the last night we spent together. I remember saying goodbye.

A simple tear trickles down my cheek at the thought of John and me together. I miss him so much that it hurts to breathe. Without him, it's like part of me is missing. John's my other half. He's the half that keeps me smiling and taking pictures. He's the part of me that makes me want to be so much more than I am. He's the part that I need right now.

I shiver as if a cool breeze floats across my room. I bury my head underneath the sheets and curl up into the fetal position in order to conserve some heat. I have half a mind to get my fuzzy blanket, but that would mean that I have to pull off my warm covers, and I just don't have the energy to do that right now.

The coldness goes away after a few minutes and I'm able to pop my head back out. However, when I turn to fix my sight on the window, my heart stops beating. My breath stops and my body goes rigid. Leaning against the window, gazing into the night, and dressed in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, is the one person I've been thinking about constantly for a year. John.

"J-John?" I manage to squeak out. His head turns towards me immediately. I can clearly see the shock written on his face of me being awake.

"It's me, Sarah," John says. He slowly walks over and kneels to the floor so he's right beside my bed. Tears are freely flowing down my cheeks like two small rivers and I'm shaking uncontrollably. He takes one of my hands and kisses each finger carefully while looking up at me.

"I've missed you so much," he whispers in between kisses. I pull my hand away so I can place it on his cheek. Through my tears I get an image of what he looks like. His jaw is covered in stubble, his hair is longer and uneven, but his eyes are the exact same. They're filled with the love and compassion that I've been yearning for for so long.

I place my other hand on his neck and run my fingers through the hair curling off of the back of his neck. John lets out a sigh and I laugh quietly in between sobs. I move my right hand from his cheek and use my thumb to trace his lips. They part slightly and I feel his warm breath on my hand as I gently lock it with my other hand behind his neck. I then pull myself to him and bury my head in his shoulder. I pull myself from my bed so I land completely on top of him as he leans backwards onto the floor.

I breathe in and am overwhelmed by his scent. It's amazing how powerful something as small as smell can be. It can tell you immediately what you're smelling, or bring back memories, or just make you lose control. To me, it's doing all three. My body trembles as I lie upon his chest, fists clenching his shirt, and I just let him hold me. His right arm is locked around my waist while his left strokes my hair; his head is tucked in next to mine whispering softly into my ear.

Soon, I stop crying and gently lift my head up. I push up off the ground so I'm hovering above him and just look at his face. I study every detail of his complexion trying to memorize everything in case this is just a dream. He has a new scar on his forehead, just above his left eyebrow, and has a lengthy red scratch on his neck.

"I can't even begin to explain how much I've missed you, Sarah," John says as he pushes my hair behind my ear.

"Then don't," I say as I swiftly lean down and press my lips to his. As soon as the kiss begins, I feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders; I feel an instant spark of life. John leans up with me straddling his waist and holds the back of my head. I feel his fingers in between my hair and how he's pushing me to be as close to him as possible. I place one hand on his neck and the other on his cheek so he can't break away from me.

I lock my legs around his waist as he moves his hands to my butt in order to stand up. However, he brings his right hand back to my head as he turns to place me on my bed. I feel the soft mattress touch my back and let my legs fall off of him. John places his hands above my head so he can hover over my body, but I reach for his side and push him over so we switch positions.

I lay on top of his heaving chest as his arms hold me in an iron-tight grip. I push my fingers into his hair and let them rest there as his lips work magic on mine. All over again, I start to cry as we lay tangled together. John tries to pull away, but I don't let him. I keep his head pressed to my bed with the pressure of my mouth on his. Soon however, our kisses become soft and loving instead of hard and lustful.

"I… love… you… so… much… Sarah…" John says in between kisses. I smile into his lips and pull my head up an inch from his.

"I love you too," I breathe before I kiss him one last time. It's a long, hard kiss, but it has a certain gentleness to it. His hands are buried deep in my hair and mine rest gently on each side of his head. I pull away gently and rest my forehead on his. His chocolate brown eyes peer deep into mine, flickering in the moonlight streaming from my bedroom window. After our short silence, I peck his lips once more and roll on to my side so we can look at each other comfortably. I crawl under the sheets with him and take one of his hands in my own.

"I've thought about you every day, Sarah. There hasn't been a day where I haven't felt sick to my stomach for leaving you. I've come so close to coming to see you so many times, but we were always on the move. We came too close to Paradise for me to resist," John says softly. Now that I notice it, his voice is rougher than before, but it still has the loving and tender feel to it as it did before.

"I promise that I've thought about three times as much. You don't know how many times I've seen a flash of blonde hair on the street and my heart beat quickened even though I knew it wasn't you. Every time I see a little beagle all I can think about is Bernie Kosar. I've missed you so much, John," I murmur. John leans over and kisses to top of my forehead soothingly.

"How have you been? I know I should've called or written, but Six can be such a pain sometimes…" John grumbles as he shuts his eyes and pinches his nose in frustration. I pull her hand away and tilt his chin up.

"All that matters is that you're here now, okay? And I've been… okay. School is hard, but Mark has been really supportive so far and he's turned out to be a good guy. My parents have been hell though. They tried to sign me up for therapy or something, but now that I'm eighteen they can't really do anything," I say. John chuckles at the suggestion of me in therapy and I crack a smile as well. "What about you? How's the hunt going? How are Six and Sam?"

"I'm as good as an alien teenager running for his life while his perfect girlfriend waits for him in safety can be," John says with a sly smile. "We've managed to pick up Eight and Seven, and we're close to another one right now. Sam is his same old self, but Six has changed a lot. We've grown really close, but in a brotherly-sisterly way. She really listens to me when I talk about you and she even gives me advice. She and Sam have gotten pretty close too," John explains, but winks at the last part. I raise an eyebrow suspiciously, but he shrugs as if he doesn't know why or how it happened.

"Well I'm glad you're doing well," I say as I nuzzle into his chest. His body is firm and more muscular than when he left, but nevertheless it feels just perfect. John kisses my cheek and wraps his arms around my body before beginning to stroke my arm.

"So what's new with you? The only thing I've noticed is that you've gotten ever more gorgeous if possible, and you re-arranged your room," John says. I had redone my room a few months after John had left to try and get rid of the memories here. I turned my bed so that it was pushed up against the corner of my walls by the window and collaged the walls completely surrounding it. I painted my room various shades of blue which I splotched on the walls with a crumpled up plastic grocery bag. I only moved the rest of my furniture around a little bit, but I can barely remember what my old room looked like now.

"Nothing really. Everything has calmed down a lot since you left, but the school is still being rebuilt. Right now I'm at Lakewood High with Mark, but it's almost a half an hour away from here. We're going to get a separate graduation with all of the other original Paradise High seniors though. Besides that, nothing has really changed. I'm photographing people now too. I do family portraits and senior pictures and that type of stuff. It's actually really good money," I say. I realize that I'm rambling when John says nothing, but instead chuckles softly to himself as he kisses my head. "Sorry… I'm talking too much, aren't I?"

"No, I love hearing about it all. I'm just happy that I get to hear your voice so happy; so _real_. I've been imagining what was going to happen when I came to see you for months now, but nothing compares to this. Well, besides the idea where I bust in through the church doors of your wedding and beg you to take me back," John says with a small laugh. I turn my head upward to look at him, but my forehead hits his chin. I pull his face down so it's close to mine and play with the hairs on the back of his head.

"I think you've taken too many knocks to the head. There's no way I'll ever stop loving you. Ever," I say and kiss him gently.

"What if half of my body got blown up and I was all scarred and deformed? Would you still love me?" John asks with his eyebrow raised in the sexy way that I love. I lean back in his arms and let my head rest on his shoulder.

"Yep. I'd still love you."

"What if I'm really a giant sea monster alien and I'm in my human disguise?"

"I still love you."

"Well what if I get a sex change and start going by the name Veronica?"

"Hmmm… I'll still love you, but I don't think we'll be seen in public together." John laughs and rolls over with me in his grasp. He pulls the covers over us so that it's pitch black. I feel his presence hovering above me and immediately start breathing hard with anticipation. The way he makes me feel is unexplainable. It's like every time I'm alone with him, I feel like I'm dropping on a rollercoaster, but the adrenaline rush won't go away.

I reach my hands up blindly and find his cheeks. His stubble rubs against my hands roughly, but I find it a better feeling than anything in the world. I snake my arms around his neck and pull his head to down to meet with mine. Our lips meet with such passion, such intensity that I find it hard to breathe. I break away to catch my breath, but only to find John's lips on me again.

They trail from my own lips, to my jaw, to my neck, to my collarbone, and back up to my lips. Each kiss sends a bolt of electricity through my body and I shiver in response. I move my hands down, tracing the features on his face, then to the hem of his shirt which I pull on. John takes my hint and pauses from kissing me to remove his shirt. I let my hands roam and trace the contours of his body.

Though I can't see them, I can't believe how much more defined his muscles are. I feel John tremble slightly with my touch and I grin into our kiss. I move my left leg to wrap around his thigh and push slightly to get John to roll over. He does so and I place my knees on each side of his waist. We kiss fervently and I feel his hands travel to my waist. They inch their way under my shirt, and just as I'm about to object due to the fact that I'm not wearing a bra, he stops them at the bare sides of my stomach. John chuckles at my hesitation and I feel his forehead against mine.

"Sarah, I'd never do that to you; not like this. When things are safe, I'll be with you. Then I will marry you and _then _we can work on the having kids part," John says. I can even feel him winking at through the darkness. "But it wouldn't be right to do this now. I want to be able to hold you in the morning when you wake up and make you breakfast. I want to be somewhere private where we can't be bothered. I want to be in our own house. I want everything to be perfect."

"John, if you're here then everything _is _perfect. But I think you're right. I want to wait. But who says I want to marry you?" I tease him.

"Well, if you don't, then you'll just have to put up with me bothering you with my undying love for you for the rest of your life. Because I can't and won't ever stop loving you," John says. I peck his lips quickly and smile.

"I love you too. And I always will. But I'm not going to say I'll marry you until I get a proper proposal," I say. John moves his hands to my lower back and locks his fingers together.

"Don't worry, you'll get one. And it'll be perfect because you deserve nothing less."

"Of course it'll be perfect. _You're _the one proposing."

Before he can answer, I lean down and press my lips to his. I extend my legs out so that I'm laying on top of him completely and my body moves with every breath he takes. I hold his face with both of my hands, one tugging on his chin, and the other buried in the hair on the side of his head. I feel John's tongue trace my bottom lip requesting entrance which I quickly grant. I allow John to be dominant as his tongue caresses my own and it explores my own mouth.

John's gentle touches begin to become rougher and his kisses become hungrier than before. He pulls my hips close to him and keeps the hand buried in my hair pressed down so that I can't escape, not that I want to anyhow. His hand roams all over my back, side, and arm before he just holds my left hip against his own body. I had completely forgotten he was shirtless until my right hand travels down his back as John leans up to kiss me more fiercely.

Soon, we're both sitting straight up with me in John's lap and my legs wrapped around his waist. My hand explores every inch of his back as I feel each individual muscles move, tighten, and relax. John keeps leaning forward kissing me until I fall onto my own back. I let my legs loosen off of John, but his hand grabs my butt and pulls me up to him. He uses his other hand to hold himself up while my own arms hang off of his shoulder and keep myself latched to him.

Our switching of position goes on for more than an hour, but the ferocity of our love for each other never subsides. By the time our kissing finally slows down, it's almost 1:00 in the morning.

"Sarah," John whispers through our gentle kisses.

"Hmm?" I reply in my tired state. I feel him smile though my eyes are closed. When I don't feel his lips on mine again, I open my eyes and find John staring at me as his thumb brushes a strand of hair off of my face. "What?"

"I think it's time for bed, beautiful," John says. An instant panic goes through my body. Is he going to leave now? He can't leave after that! John recognizes my fear and bends down to kiss my lips again. "I'm not leaving you. Not tonight. Tomorrow though. You need to know that." I let out a breath and nod.

"Okay. As long as I have you for tonight, I'm not letting go. But promise me one thing?" I ask. John looks into my eyes and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

"Anything."

"Don't leave without saying goodbye. You might think it will be easier, but don't you dare leave without saying goodbye. You can't make me think this was all a dream."

John nods and brushes his lips over my forehead. He slides his arms under me and lifts me to the opposite side of the bed where he gently places me under the covers. Then he slides under next to me, pulls me to his side, and locks his arms around me.

"John? Do you promise?" I ask in a small voice. I feel a pair of lips on my temple and then feel their presence by my ear.

"I promise," he whispers. I smile and turn to peck him on the lips once more.

"Good. Goodnight, John."

"Goodnight, Sarah. I love you."

"I love you too."

After that, I fell into the best sleep I've ever had.

**Well, what did you think? Heh… it was a little steamy, but nothing too bad. Please review and check out my other stories!:) Thanks!**


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